Shawn Amos Quotes

The first writers I knew about were Motown's Holland-Dozier-Holland.

I wrote songs with the guys from Air Supply for their record... So I was just writing songs.

I don't write all my stuff. Everybody always thinks that. But in just about every album I've ever had has been about 50-50 songs I've written or co-written and other people's songs.

I write a lot of music in my time off and I compose most of the songs on guitar. I've actually gone into the studio and recorded a few things, but it's tough trying to sell a song. It's all about finding that hook, that melody.

I didn't want to be a solo Westlife - covers and ballads - and the reason I signed with Capitol Records was because they wanted me to write songs myself. It was pretty scary, but they put me in a studio in Nashville with some new songwriters, and the results were pretty good.

I had been stockpiling Gospel songs for other artists, and had planned to submit them to Gospel artists.

Guys like Otis Blackwell and Bobby Darin, and all the guys who were writing songs for Elvis at the time, just hanging around, writing songs, talking about music.

A big part of the Motown formula was, they took music and turned it into this sort of automotive assembly line. They were cranking out 10 songs a day in that studio, or more.

Whenever I fill out the job description I put 'songwriter', never 'singer' or 'artist.' Singers come and go.

I'd like to be writing songs for other people - I just like writing songs.

Composers and lyricists are making songs that are approved by the producers and directors.

Whenever I have time, I try to get in the studio and write, whether it's for me or other artists or my catalog of music. It's definitely one of my favorite parts of the music industry.

I attended a post-college program in L.A. for Music Business and Production. Took several courses involving Music Production, Arrangement, and Songwriting.

The kids of today have taken over the music business - most of them very young. Simply because they write and jot down a few notes, they have the idea that they can write songs.

Capitol Records were very keen for me to write and see how I got on; I think that is what defined my sound. The first session I had was with two young up-and-coming writers, Nick Atkinson and Tom Wilding, and I went into a session a bit nervous because I hadn't written that many songs before.

I've never forgotten a single record I cut or a song I wrote.

When I'm in the studio, I don't finish the song and say, 'That's going to be a big ringtone.'

Pop songs are not as graceful as they used to be. Performers today haven't gone through the regimen of learning how to write. And of course, everyone wants to own copyrights.

And I can say this, most of the people who have recorded my songs are songwriters themselves.

I am a songwriter at heart, and I feel like I would, in the future, write songs for other people. I don't think I want to pursue it for myself, for a solo career.

All you needed was a couple of instruments and a few chords and you could be on an indie label.

I love music, so if I wasn't singing, I would probably still be working in the music industry. I love songwriting, so I'd probably be a songwriter.

'I'm Sorry' was one of the first songs to come out of Nashville using strings.

I was in about in the 8th grade when I started recording R&B, so much of what was on was the Motown sound, and The Beatles had pretty much come over and taken America by storm.

People are quite shocked when you remind them that Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra never wrote a song that they recorded in their lives, as far as I know.